MELAKA – Perikatan Nasional’s Telok Mas election operation room has been ordered to close for 14 days starting today after a Covid-19 case was detected on the premises.
According to a report by Utusan Malaysia, the closure notice was pasted on the door of the operations centre, which states the effective date of closure from today until November 26.
The coalition has also been fined RM10,000 for failing to provide a body temperature scanner at the premises, which is the operation room for the state seat’s candidate Datuk Rafiq Naizamohideen.
Meanwhile, a statement allegedly issued by the Health Ministry (MoH), which claimed that the said PN election operation room has been identified as the source of the Telok Mas Covid-19 cluster, has since gone viral.
In the statement sighted by The Vibes, MoH advised the public to stay away from PN candidates, leaders and the party machinery to curb the spread of Covid-19.
However, MoH has since denied issuing such a statement.
Kenyataan akhbar berikut adalah palsu dan tidak pernah dikeluarkan oleh Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia. pic.twitter.com/AC7YqMu168
— KKMalaysia?? (@KKMPutrajaya) November 12, 2021
“The press statement is fake and was never issued by MoH,” it said briefly in a tweet today.
The latest incident has revived concerns that the Melaka election, forced by dissolution of the state assembly, may lead to a new wave of Covid-19 infections akin to the Sabah election in September last year.
Rafiq is facing a three-cornered fight in the Melaka polls.
The PN state chief is being challenged by Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Ashraf Mukhlis Minghat, who is also Melaka Amanah secretary; Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman (Barisan Nasional); and Muhammad Ariff Adly Mohammad (independent). – The Vibes, November 12, 2021
